Category: Life (Un)Complicated

Dear Rue, Where should I begin? I guess I could go all the way back, back to the day I got dressed up in a pretty pink dress, walked into the hospital room and saw you, red and wrinkly, sleeping in a little, clear crib. I guess I could start there, but our story is… Continue reading A Letter to My Little Sister

Stress is, and always has been, an integral part of the human experience. According to Vince Faust’s article, “Learning How to Control Stress for Better Health,” from the July 2015 edition of The Philadelphia Tribune, “stress is the mental, emotional, and physiological response of the body to any situation that is new, threatening, frightening, or… Continue reading Stressed Out???

My dad was dead. My mom was depressed. My sister was a mess. And I was fine. I mean, sure, I was sad, but sad an appropriate, normal amount. I was handling things. I was the responsible one. I was organized. I did my homework. I cleaned the house. I was the one who kept… Continue reading I’m Fine: My Obsession with Control

After the telling us about the cancer, my dad went to Columbian Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. This is where he got chemo. My mom explained to me and my sister that chemo was a very strong medicine used to fight cancer. She said the chemo was like a little army that would kill… Continue reading Our Superman Starts Chemo

Hunter squirms in her arms, crying and whimpering. She cradles him, quietly whispering and trying to calm him down. They are waiting for the veterinarian to return; he squirms and she hopes for an answer, a good answer. … On a cold January night, Hunter, only a tiny, four-pound fluff at the time, cries in… Continue reading A Dog and His Human

I sit quietly in an eerily familiar room, now a stranger. I look around the darkened room and suddenly see the computer against the wall transform into a black keyboard. Even though I know the walls are painted a pretty purple, I see the old-fashioned wood paneling creeping its way up the wall. I try… Continue reading Returning to My Childhood Home

To My Future Husband, As a child, I loved the Disney princesses and their stories of prevailing over evil, falling in love, getting married and living happily ever after. Life would be pretty simple – grow up to be beautiful, fall in love with a prince and the two of you easily defeat the villain… Continue reading To My Future Husband

Number One: “Why do you wear plain clothes?” Number Two: My mother has a spot on her front tooth that is whiter than the rest of her teeth. As a child, I was fascinated every time she smiled. I wondered if the white spot would expand so all her teeth could be bright, bright white.… Continue reading Why I Am Who I Am…

Turning points are funny – in my mind, I always see the image of driving along a narrow road overlooking a cliff and a sharp, hair pin turn is approaching. Sometimes life’s turning points give you a heads-up – a U-turn sign, a falling rock zone sign or a winding road up ahead sign. The… Continue reading Our Toxic World